Weekday Scampi

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I’m bringing you a little weekday scampi, because given the COVID circumstances, we all deserve it. And… most of us have a bit more time on on hands, so why not! I love shrimp scampi, and it’s one of those dishes that I don’t have very often, but it is everything I want in a “treat yourself dish”. The dry white wine reduced in the butter-olive oil fat renders a beautifully glossy sauce. For this particular recipe, I like to introduce a bit more earthy and herbaceous flavors through the parsley and the spinach linguini.

If you’re able to find fresh spinach linguini, even better, but dried linguini works great as well. The spinach pasta adds a little more depth of flavor and I love the color contrast next to the soft pink hues of the seared shrimp. Food should both taste and look amazing, that’s my goal anyways. Hope this makes its way into your kitchen sooner rather than later!

SHRIMP SCAMPI
WITH SPINACH LINGUINI

SERVES 4

ingredients

  • 16 oz of fresh or dried spinach linguine

  • 4 Tbsp butter

  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing

  • 1 large shallot, minced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes, to preference

  • 1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined

  • 1/4 cup dry white wine

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

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STEPS

  1. On high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil. Heartily season the water with salt. Drop the linguini in the boiling water and stir to separate the noodles. Allow to cook 6 to 8 minutes or until very al dente. The linguine will continue cooking in the pasta sauce.

  2. While the linguine is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Sauté the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes about 3-5 minutes or until the shallots are slightly translucent.

  3. Make sure the shrimp is washed and dry before seasoning it with salt and cracked pepper. Cook the shrimp in the butter-olive oil until slightly pink. Flip the shrimp about 1 minute in to ensure even cook time. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Cover with foil to keep warm.

  4. Add the white wine and lemon juice to the sauce and bring to a roaring bubble. Then add the remaining butter and olive oil to the sauce.

  5. Add the parsley, shrimp and linguini back into the pan and mix until the noodles are evenly coated.

  6. Season with salt and cracked pepper to preference.

  7. Serve immediately and drizzle additional olive oil atop the linguine to finish.

 
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FOODMatt TsangComment